Speakers

Sylvia Earle

Sylvia Earle is an American oceanographer. She was chief scientist for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from 1990-1992. In 1992, Earle founded Deep Ocean Exploration and Research to further advance marine engineering. Today Earle serves as Explorer in Residence at the National Geographic Society and the company known as DOER Marine is run by her daughter. In 2010, Sylvia founded Mission Blue and is currently Chairman and CEO of Sylvia Earle Alliance, her foundation. Mission Blue is a multi-year global initiative founded by TED, the National Geographic, the Waitt Foundation and SEAlliance with many partners committed to inspiring people to care and act to restore the ocean’s health and productivity by reducing the impact of fishing and creating marine protected areas — hope spots.

Ed Begley Jr.

Ed Begley, Jr. is an EMMY nominated actor and a renowned environmentalist/activist. Ed directed several episodes of the hit show “NYPD Blue” as well as a play that he wrote called “Cesar and Ruben” that won a Nos Otros Award and four Valley Theater League Awards. He currently has a reality show about green living called Living With Ed on Planet Green with his wife, actress Rachelle Carson. He promotes eco-friendly products like the Toyota Prius and Begley’s Best Household Cleaner. Begley is the author of Living Like Ed: A Guide to the Eco-Friendly Life, published in 2008.

David de Rothschild

David de Rothschild is a British adventurer/environmentalist and head of Adventure Ecology, an expedition group raising awareness about climate change. He was awarded the accolade of “Emerging Explorer” by National Geographic, was appointed an “international ambassador” by NGO Clean Up The World, and nominated as a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum. In March 2010 de Rothschild and a crew of 5 began an expedition to sail across the Pacific on a catamaran partially made from reclaimed post-consumer plastic bottles called the Plastiki, which successfully completed its journey to Sydney on the 26th of July, 2010.

John Dramani Mahama

His Excellency John Dramani Mahama is the vice president of the Republic of Ghana. He was first elected to the Parliament of Ghana in 1996 to represent the Bole/Bamboi Constituency for a four-year term, and was re-elected in 2000 for another four-year period. He again won the seat in 2004 for a third term. From 2001 to 2004, he served as Minority Parliamentary spokesman for Communications. In 2002, he was appointed Director of Communications for the NDC. In 2002, Mr. Mahama was among International Observers who watched the Zimbabwe parliamentary elections. He is a member of the UNDP Advisory Committee on Conflict Resolution in Ghana.

Captain Charles Moore

Captain Charles Moore founded Algalita Marine Research Foundation in 1994. He is the lead author of two scientific papers published in Marine Pollution Bulletin: The first paper documented his 1999 study, which shocked the scientific world when it found 6 times more plastic fragments by weight in the central Pacific than the associated zooplankton. His second paper found that plastic outweighs plankton by a factor of 2.5 in the near coastal surface waters of Southern California. Captain Moore has conducted ocean and coastal sampling for plastic fragments through more than 40,000 miles of the North Pacific Ocean, across 22 degrees of latitude and 70 degrees of longitude. His latest 10,000 mile voyage took him and his crew two-thirds of the way to Japan across the International Dateline.

Chris Malloy

The oldest of the three brothers, Chris is a renowned surfer and creative big-picture visionary. The Malloys have spent years exploring uncharted waters around the Irish coast to find empty, world-class waves. From his early days in Hawaii right up until his unprecedented move to his Patagonia sponsorship, Chris is always one step ahead of other surfers. Known as someone who can surf any size wave, on any size board, in any location. Chris has surfed every continent on the planet, including Antarctica. According to Chris, from Antarctica to Iceland, and from Galapagos to New Caledonia, no matter how remote the place was, plastic was already there.

Daniella Dimitrova Russo

Daniella Dimitrova Russo is a business leader and entrepreneur. Daniella believes that every progressive society is fueled by the power of informed and engaged people. She believes that every person carries the responsibility for the future of our planet, and change is possible only if we work together. Daniella has worked on the issues of plastic pollution for several years. She launched and ran the award-winning 360 campaign Think Beyond Plastics and co-founded the Plastic Pollution Coalition. Daniella has spent many years in the high-tech industry as a founder and executive of a range businesses – from Internet startups to Fortune 500 companies. She was involved with Frame Technology, Infoseek, Xerox PARC, Sun Microsystems, Mindzone, PlanetStop and others.

Arlene Blum

Arlene Blum is an American mountaineer, writer, and environmental health scientist. She is best known for leading an all-woman ascent of Annapurna, a climb that was also the first successful American ascent. She was also a deputy leader of the first all-woman ascent of Mount McKinley and the first American woman to attempt to ascend Mount Everest. Blum taught at Stanford University, Wellesley College, and the University of California, Berkeley. In 2007 Blum co-founded the Green Science Policy Institute (GSP) with the goal of bringing scientific research results into policy decisions to protect human health and the environment from toxic chemicals.

JD Russo

JD Russo is a member of the Plastic Pollution Coalition Advisory Council. He is student at Carmel High School, and an outspoken advocate of alternatives to plastic. He strongly believes in the power of the public to affect change, and that people need to be personally connected to the issues in order to be engaged. In his words, “we must raise not just more awareness, but raise care.” JD Russo works at the Monterey Bay Aquarium as a volunteer guide.

Stacy Malkan

Stacy Malkan is the author of the award-winning book, “Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry” and co-founder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a national coalition of health and environmental groups that are committed to eliminating harmful chemicals from personal care products and shifting the beauty industry to green sustainable practices. Stacy is a former journalist and newspaper publisher, and a leading expert on chemical exposures, health concerns and the latest market developments in safe products.

Beth Terry

Beth Terry was recovering from surgery, when she read an article and saw a photo that changed her life. The article was ‚”Our Oceans Are Turning Into Plastic… Are We?” and the photo showed the carcass of a dead sea bird, its belly full of plastic pieces: bottle caps, cigarette lighters, even a toothbrush. Beth looked at her own life and realized that through her unconscious overconsumption, she was personally contributing to the suffering of creatures she hadn’t even known existed. That week, she committed to stop buying new plastic, and a passion, and the blog Fake Plastic Fish, were born. Fake Plastic Fish is the number one web site on plastic-free living, combining useful information about plastic-free alternatives with personal stories and personal rants. In addition to reducing their personal plastic consumption, readers are invited to join the Show Your Plastic Trash Challenge, collecting their plastic waste for a week or more to understand their personal plastic impact. Beth Terry is a Plastic Pollution Coalition advisor and contributing editor for BlogHer.com. She is currently working on a book on plastic-free living in order to reach a broader audience.

Dr. Wallace “J.” Nichols

Dr. Wallace “J.” Nichols is a scientist, activist, community organizer, author and dad. He works to inspire a deeper connection with nature. J. is a Research Associate at California Academy of Sciences, founder of Ocean Revolution, an international network of young ocean advocates, and Science Advisory Board Chair for the Plastic Pollution Coalition. He earned his MEM in Environmental Policy and Economics from Duke University’s Nicholas School and his PhD in Wildlife Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from University of Arizona. He advises a motivated group of international graduate students and serves as an advisor to numerous non-profit boards.

Andy Keller

Andy Keller is on a mission to help humanity kick the single-use bag habit, after an overwhelming encounter with loose plastic bags at the landfill in 2004. He sees solutions in product design and street-theater advocacy. In addition to founding the ChicoBag Company, Andy is an active writer, blogger, speaker and activist and recently returned from a cross-country 40 day educational tour as the dreaded Bag Monster. Andy has loaned out hundreds of Bag Monsters to environmental groups around the world. He has been interviewed by leading media outlets including Entrepreneur Magazine and is a contributing writer to TakePart, a social action network dedicated to inspiring people to take action on environmental, issues.

Bharati Chaturvedi

Bharati Chaturvedi is the founder of an India based non-profit, Chintan, working to reduce ecological footprints and increase environmental justice. Amongst its best known work are its programs with informal waste handlers and recyclers and its advocacy and research. She is part of government committees for policy making, with special focus on plastic bags and packaging. She led a campaign with 300,000 school children to build public opinion against plastic bags. Bharati writes a column for the Hindustan Times and blogs with the Huffington Post. She has a Masters degree in History from Delhi University and a Masters in International Public Policy from the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University. She is the recipient of the 2009 Johns Hopkins Alumni Knowledge for the World Award.

Dr. Rose Mukankomeje

Dr. Rose Mukankomeje, a biologist, received her Ph.D. in Sciences from “Facultes Universitaires Notre Dame de la Paix, Namur Belgium”. She is the Director General of the Rwanda Environment Management Authority. Dr. Rose Mukankomeje is the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Operational Focal Point for Rwanda, NEPAD Country Focal Point for Environment and national technical focal for African Ministerial Council of Environment (AMCEN). In collaboration with Ministry of Science, Technology and Scientific Research, she was the Vice President of the Scientific Committee of the International research Conference on Biodiversity Convention. She lead the African Group of UNCCD Experts in 2007 in Rwanda. She was the technical lead for UNEP for the World Environmental Day 2010 which took place in Rwanda on the 5th June 2010.

David Wernery

David Wernery is an in-house counsel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and together with his father, a Veterinarian for the Ruling Family of Dubai, he has been tackling environmental issues for over twenty years. As a long standing member of the Dubai Natural History Group and a founding member of the Emirates Environmental Group, the only such organization in the region, his main concern has been creating awareness. David has recently been involved in starting up the Gulf Network for Arid Region Environments, based in Doha, Qatar. David never goes shopping without his trusted re-usable Carrefour bag.

Van Jones

Van Jones is a globally recognized, award-winning pioneer in human rights and the clean-energy economy. Van is a co-founder of three successful non-profit organizations: the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Color of Change and Green For All. He is the best-selling author of the definitive book on green jobs: The Green-Collar Economy. He served as the green jobs advisor in the Obama White House in 2009. Van is currently a senior fellow at the Center For American Progress. Additionally, he is a senior policy advisor at Green For All. Van also holds a joint appointment at Princeton University, as a distinguished visiting fellow in both the Center for African American Studies and in the Program in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

Ken Cook

Ken Cook is President and co-founder of Environmental Working Group, which was founded in 1993. He is the author of dozens of articles, opinion pieces and reports on environmental, public health and agricultural topics. Cook earned B.A., B.S., and M.S. degrees from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He is the author of dozens of articles, opinion pieces and reports on environmental, public health and agricultural topics. He is married to Deb Callahan and lives in Washington, D.C.

Ferris Thompson

Ferris Thompson has 22 years of experience in creating and packaging sponsorships, integrated brand campaigns and strategic alliances for Fortune 100 companies. In his last corporate role as President of the Entertainment practice at Edelman, he lead a team that developed comprehensive marketing and communications campaigns for clients such as GlaxoSmithKline, Unilever and the US Government. Prior to Edelman, Ferris was the Head of Marketing for United Talent Agency where he developed branded entertainment programs and sponsorships with clients like Celine Dion/Chrysler and Blockbuster/NBC. Before UTA Ferris served as the VP Universal Studios Corporate Marketing and Partnerships Group where he was responsible for developing new studio-wide sponsorships and overseeing the activation and servicing of partnerships with PepsiCo, Panasonic, Chrysler and Kodak.

Lila Roo

Lila Roo is an artist who uses both refuse and nature to create large scale sculptures and performances. She uses art as a ritual and language to engage the people and environments she inhabits, looking for the universal visual connections and curiosity. As a gypsy of flight, her artwork is mobile, created with the intent to travel, to teach and to learn from the world: people, land, air and sea.

Ellyn Maybe

Ellyn Maybe is the author of many books including The Cowardice of Amnesia, Walking Barefoot in the Glassblowers Museum and Praha and the Poet as well as the critically acclaimed poetry/music album, Rodeo for the Sheepish. The Los Angeles based poet has performed her work all over the country, including the Los Angeles Times Book Fair, Bumbershoot, the Poetry Project, the New School, Taos Poetry Circus, South by Southwest, Lollapalooza, Albuquerque Poetry Festival and Seattle Poetry Festival. Writer’s Digest named her one of ten poets to watch in the new millennium. She was on the 1998 and 1999 Venice Beach Slam teams. She was seen reading her work in Michael Radford’s (Il Postino) film Dancing at the Blue Iguana.

Patrick Kenney

Patrick Kenney is a business leader and general manager. He owned businesses and consulting services across a wide variety of industries dealing with strategy, operational issues, new markets, and complex issue management of startups, acquisitions, JVs, domestic and global corporations. Funded a startup called Green Harvest Technologies LLC and took over at CEO. “Our mission is to make and sell semi-durable and durable finished plastic goods for the consumer and health care markets. We aim to harness the synergies of renewable materials, new bio-polymers and market demand to bring consumers real, performing, healthy, green products. Our integrated business model is a cradle to cradle, systemic value chain. Significant investments in technology, product development, and industry relations have us focused on completing incubation to move to commercialization. Success will be an industry changer.”

Aimee Christensen

Aimee Christensen has worked at the intersection of environment, development, and human rights for nearly two decades. She is an adviser, a lawyer, an advocate, an entrepreneur, a political strategist, and a connector. Aimee guides individuals and institutions seeking to address the global challenges of climate change, ecosystem degradation, and resource scarcity, including the Clinton Global Initiative, Carbon War Room, Duke Energy, Ogilvy, Swiss Re, the United Nations Development Program, the U.S. Department of Energy, Virgin Unite, and Wolfensohn + Co. As a climate adviser at Google.org, she developed the RechargeIT plug-in hybrid vehicle-to-grid project and advised the Greenteam in the company’s commitment to carbon neutrality. Aimee serves on the Boards of the American Council on Renewable Energy and the Clean Economy Network. Aimee addressed energy issues at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, and in 2010, the Aspen Institute awarded Aimee a Catto Fellowship for her environmental leadership.

Inara George

Los Angeles-based songwriter, also known for her work with retro-electro duo The Bird and The Bee. Inara George’s debut solo album, ‚”All Rise‚Äö√Ñ√π (January 2005, Everloving) was a KCRW hit and included a cover of Joe Jackson’s “Fool’s In Love” which was made famous on “Grey’s Anatomy
and the accompanying soundtrack album. She followed that album up with 2008′s kitchen sink odyssey “An Invitation” a lush and sweeping collaboration with Van Dyke Parks and a 24 piece orchestra that the Wall Street Journal called “urbane and lots of fun… it’s an album that gets better in time as the interplay between Ms. George’s voice and Mr. Parks’s work continues to reveal itself.”

Ben Lear

Ben Lear grew up in Los Angeles with a loving family and a view of the ocean. When he was ten years old, he found a guitar at his friend’s house and began picking the open strings. Fast forward to today. Ben has just graduated NYU’s Music Composition program. He has fallen in love with orchestral music and the effect those colors have on his own songwriting. And from that love, he has composed a folk-opera entitled, Lillian, about a man, who must scuba-dive to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to reclaim all he’s lost in his life. The show premiered on May 21st in NYC. Following the performance, Fox News invited Ben to appear on its program, Strategy Room, and the LA Times confirmed it will run a feature on the production so long as it comes to Los Angeles. Obviously, Ben has begun planning a West coast premiere.

Fabien Cousteau

Fabien Cousteau, third generation explorer, environmental activist and documentary film producer, is the founder and director of Plant A Fish, a nonprofit dedicated to restoring our water planet and educating youth about the importance of conservation and restoration. At any time, Fabien can be found in the far corners of the earth speaking at conferences, planting oysters or sharing his wisdom with all those that can make a difference. Fabien plays a key role in the PBS series, Ocean Adventures, interviewing experts, assisting production and diving with the crew. Fabien lives in New York City, serves on the boards of the New York Harbor School and the Water Innovations Alliance and acts as an advisor to Seakeepers and the Plastic Pollution Coalition.

Erica Williams

Erica Williams is an activist and media personality who works to empower people of all backgrounds to make the world a more Millennial place: progressive, connected, diverse, and creative. She currently serves as the Deputy Director of Progress 2050, a project of the Center for American Progress that develops new policy ideas for an increasingly diverse America. She is also the CEO and host of VoiceofaGen.com, an online platform that used multimedia to highlight a new generation of change-makers. Listed by Politico.com as one of Top 50 Politicos to Watch and chosen by NAACP as one of its 2010 Power 40, she is the former Deputy Director and Advocacy Manager of Campus Progress. Erica has worked at the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights to coordinate grassroots activity in nearly 45 states to advance effective civil and human rights legislation. She is a past participant of the American University Women and Political Leadership Training Program, a 2008 O Magazine Women Rule Leadership winner, and a 2008 Aspen Institute IDEAS fellow. A native Washingtonian, Williams has appeared on CNN, C-Span, “Focus Earth with Bob Woodruff,” and BBC among others outlets and has been featured and widely quoted in various print publications such as CNN.com, Harvard Business Review, U.S. News and World Report, The Washington Post, O Magazine, and The Nation.

Jordan Howard

Jordan Howard is an 18 year old graduate of the Environmental Charter High School in Los Angeles, California. At the age of 15 she learned that it was her job to educate people on the importance of living a sustainable life. She has created environmental films and spoke to thousands of youth and adults about sustainability, education, and youth empowerment. She opened for Hilary Clinton at the nations first carbon neutral political fundraiser for President Obama’s election campaign and keynoted the City of LA’s International Environmental Youth Conference. She organized and led the Rise Above Plastics Student Speaker Series, where she trained students to give presentations across Los Angeles about the harms and solutions to using disposable plastics. Jordan is the editor of the book, “Green My Parents” that trains kids to teach their parents how to save money while living sustainably. Jordan has been honored by The U.S. Green Building Council, Participant Media, The Weather Channel, California State Assembly, The Tavis Smiley Foundation and many more.

Anna Cummins

Anna Cummins has over 10 years of experience in environmental non-profit work, education, writing, and campaign development. She has worked in marine conservation, coastal watershed management, sustainability education, and high school ecology instruction. In 2007 Anna joined the Algalita Marine Research Foundation and completed a month long, 4,000-mile research expedition studying plastic debris in the North Pacific Gyre, and a 2,000 mile cycling/speaking tour from Vancouver to Mexico, giving talks about plastic pollution. Anna and her husband Marcus Eriksen recently co-founded 5 Gyres, in collaboration with Algalita and Pangaea Explorations, to research and communicate plastic pollution in the worlds oceans. Anna was elected a National Fellow of the Explorers Club in 2010.

Marcus Ericsen

Marcus Ericsen is an advocate for ocean conservation, as the Director of Project Development for the Algalita Marine Research Foundation. In 2006, he won the H. David Nahai Water Quality Award in Education for his conservation work with inner-city students; in 2008, he won the Menzie Education Award from the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry for marine education. In 2008, Marcus rafted across the Pacific Ocean from California to Hawaii on JUNK, a raft floating on 15,000 plastic bottles, 30 sailboat masts lashed to form a deck, and a Cessna airplane fuselage as a cabin (junkraft.com). The journey brought attention to the issue of plastic trash filling the world’s oceans and solutions. Recently, Marcus co-founded “5 Gyres Institute”, to study and communicate plastic pollution in the 5 large ocean gyres in the world. Marcus was elected a National Fellow of the Explorers Club in 2010.

Jackson Browne

Jackson Browne has written some of the most literate and moving songs in popular music. Inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, he’s defined a genre of songwriting charged with honesty, emotion and personal politics. He has released fifteen studio albums and three collections of live performances; his most recent, Love is Strange features David Lindley. He’s a co-founder of the groups Musicians United for Safe Energy (MUSE), Nukefree.org, and the Success Through the Arts Foundation, which provides education opportunities for students in South Los Angeles. www.jacksonbrowne.com

Monica Wilson

Monica Wilson is U.S. Director of the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), a network with members in 65 countries working for a safe and just world without waste. She helps lead the Recycling Works Campaign, a project to bring together labor and community-based organizations to create good jobs in recycling. Before joining GAIA in 2002, she worked on corporate responsibility and environmental health issues, including a campaign against Shell Oil’s abuses in Nigeria. Monica serves on the board of the Grassroots Recycling Network and is a master composter. She is based in GAIA’s U.S. office in Berkeley, California.

Suja Lowenthal

Suja Lowenthal is the Vice Mayor of Long Beach, California. She was appointed to the California Coastal Commission (2007-2009) and currently represents Long Beach on the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, a consortium of 26 cities and water districts responsible for providing high quality and reliable drinking water to nearly 18 million in Los Angeles and surrounding counties. Suja serves on the board of Heal The Bay. Suja has been active in several local community organizations including the Los Angeles & San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council and Aquarium of the Pacific Watershed Curriculum Steering Committee. Suja has been a leading advocate or authored local legislation on related topics such as Single Use Bag Ban, Los Angeles River Water Quality, Low Impact Development, Tiered Rate Water Billing, Conversion Technology, Greywater Recycling and No Smoking in Public Parks.

Lisa Kaas Boyle

Lisa Kaas Boyle is an environmental attorney and Co-Founder/Policy Director of Plastic Pollution Coalition. Lisa is a former Deputy District Attorney for the County of Los Angeles where she served in the Environmental Crimes Division, Consumer Protection Division, and Central Trials Division. In addition, Lisa served as Director of Law and Policy for Santa Monica- based nonprofit Heal the Bay, where she remains on the Board of Directors. Lisa writes on environmental issues for The Huffington Post.

Chris Jordan

Chris Jordan is an internationally acclaimed photographic artist and social activist whose work explores the detritus of American mass culture. Chris‚Äö√Ñ√¥s work is exhibited widely in the US and Europe, and has been featured in magazines, newspapers, weblogs, documentary films and television programs all over the globe. He is the 2010 recipient of the Sierra Club‚Äö√Ñ√¥s Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography, and he lives in Seattle with his wife the poet Victoria Sloan Jordan, and his son Emerson.

Victoria Sloan Jordan

Victoria Sloan Jordan is a Seattle-based poet and part of the MidwayJourney.com team whose mission is to witness and document the effect of plastic pollution on the albatross population on Midway Atoll. Victoria and her husband, photographer Chris Jordan, are collaborating on a book of photographs, poetry and essays that uncover the tragedy.

Jeanne Rizzo

Jeanne Rizzo‘s vision guided the Breast Cancer Fund to adopt its bold mission to identify and advocate for the elimination of the environmental causes of the disease, and under her leadership the organization continues its commitment to strong science, smart public policy and consumer education. Ms. Rizzo is Council chair of the California Breast Cancer Research Program and is an appointed member of the National Institute of Health Interagency Breast Cancer and Environment Research Coordinating Committee. A nurse, then an award-winning music, theater and film producer, she produced the documentary Climb Against the Odds: Mt. McKinley.

Amy Novogratz

Amy Novogratz is a leader who understands that bringing people together with a range of experience and expertise – business, technology, entertainment, and media – can lead to real change. As Director of the TED Prize, she oversees a process that awards $100,000 to an exceptional leader, granting them the opportunity of a lifetime: a wish to change the world, with the brainpower and resources of TED to make this happen. From Bono and former President Bill Clinton to writer Dave Eggers, religious historian Karen Armstrong, and chef-activist Jamie Oliver, Amy is paving the way – working with the best of the best – to take these wishes from idea to reality. With her experience inside and outside social ventures, from working with Fortune 500 CEOs to producing documentaries, starting a non-profit, and launching a TV show that connects kids from around the world, Amy brings a multi-faceted approach to running the TED Prize and bringing about social change.

Dianna Cohen

Dianna Cohen Los Angeles-based multimedia visual artist, painter and curator Dianna Cohen is best known for her works using recycled plastic bags ranging from small hanging pieces to room-sized installations. Cohen’s work has been applied to surfboards in the acclaimed group show FLOW – fine lines on water. In 2007, Cohen expanded into making wearable art pieces using recycled materials. Other projects include Citizenlove, textiles based on her plastic work and viewable at: www.citizenlove.com. Solo shows include post, Art Affairs gallery in Amsterdam, the Sutton Gallery in Melbourne, and Frank Pictures in Santa Monica, CA. She has shown in group exhibitions at Affirmation Arts in NYC, the Riverside Art Museum in Riverside, the Bronx Museum in NYC and the Tampa Museum of Art in Florida. In 2008 she had work in the exhibition Just How does A Patriot Act at The OCCCA in Orange County and at SPARC in Venice, CA and in the exhibition Recreate in Santa Monica. In 2009, Cohen had solo exhibitions at Elizabeth Budia Gallery, Barcelona, and Art From Scrap in Santa Barbara. In 2010, her work will be exhibited in BCN: Nights Gallery in Barcelona, Spain.

Leslie Mintz Tamminen

Leslie Mintz Tamminen is the Ocean Program Director for Seventh Generation Advisors, a nonprofit environmental organization working to make a sustainable world seven generations into the future. Leslie Tamminen is also currently the coordinator of “The Clean Seas Coalition,” a growing group of environmentalists, scientists, California lawmakers, students, and community leaders pushing California to strengthen laws reducing trash in California‚Äö√Ñ√¥s seas. Leslie is also a Trustee of the California Ocean Science Trust. Formerly, Leslie was a special advisor to Lt. Governor John Garamendi and the Legislative Director and staff attorney for the environmental nonprofit organization Heal the Bay. Leslie is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, and the University of Southern California Law Center, and lives in the Los Angeles area.

Ambassador Stuart Beck

Ambassador Beck graduated from Harvard College in 1968 and Yale Law School in 1971. In 1977, he was retained by the Palau Political Status Commission as Chief Counsel to assist the Commission in its drive to achieve sovereignty for Palau. In that capacity, he worked from 1976 until 1980, negotiating and concluding with the United States the groundbreaking Hilo Agreement, and then the Compact of Free Association. These established, for the first time, Palau’s right to conduct its own internal and foreign affairs, and to take its place in the community of nations. He also participated as Counsel to the Status Commission on the several historic occasions at which it petitioned the United Nations for separate sovereignty. In 1978, at the request of the Status Commission, Ambassador Beck arranged to have the eminent Harvard Professor and former Ambassador of President Kennedy to India, John Kenneth Galbraith, become the unpaid Economic Adviser to the Status Commission. In recognition of his service to Palau, Ambassador Beck was made an honorary citizen of the Republic in 1979, by Joint Resolution of the Sixth Palau Legislature No. 1041. In 1986, Ambassador Beck co-founded Granite Broadcasting Corporation, a public company that owned and operated television stations around the US. He was President of that company until 2004. In early 2004, Ambassador Beck was asked by President Remengesau to become Palau’s first Ambassador to the United Nations, and has served continuously in this position to date.

Andrew Behar

Andrew Behar, As You Sow CEO, has 30 years of experience as a Senior Executive and strategist in the clean-tech, communications and life science sectors. Prior to joining As You Sow, Andrew founded and was CEO of a clean-tech start-up developing innovative fuel cell technologies. He served as COO for a social media agency focused in the sustainability space and has been a strategic consultant in the non-profit sector. He has founded and run start-ups in the medical device and communications areas and serves on the boards of several high-tech innovation companies.